


When I Find Myself In Times Of Trouble - I Shouldn't

by lisachan



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-03
Updated: 2019-10-03
Packaged: 2020-11-23 00:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20883392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisachan/pseuds/lisachan
Summary: Daniel has a problem. Luckily, he also has a best friend to try and help him solve it.





	When I Find Myself In Times Of Trouble - I Shouldn't

**Author's Note:**

> This is SO RANDOM.

Some people have punching balls, others do sports. Many find weird hobbies, some others use squishy balls that they keep crushing in their fists until they calm down. Most people have a hot cocoa, a nice spiced tea or chamomile and a reasonable amount of guys and girls ultimately resort to have sex.

To each their own – people find their ways to deal with stressful situations.

Daniel has Jules.

They’ve been friends forever, despite their slight age difference – Jules was the neighbor’s son, and both of them being only children definitely contributed to make them grow closer, especially during school breaks, when they basically stopped hanging out with classmates to hang out by themselves in the woods close to where they lived in the countryside.

They helped each other a lot through the hard times in their life. When Jules came out, back in high school, and his parents kicked him out of the house, it was Daniel who offered him a spot next to him on the bed, and it was Daniel’s parents who took him in like a son of their own. When Daniel started struggling with his sexuality, when he came to believe he was sick, that there was something fucked up about him because while all his same-age friends lost their virginity and went on full-on hunts every Friday night the mere idea of sex left him completely unfazed at best and crept him out at the worst, Jules was the only one who listened to him without prejudice and was by his side through all his internet searching and finally speaking with a therapist to come to understand better that side of him, the side that wasn’t and was never going to be interested in sex in any form. 

When they grew up, and Jules started getting interested in the BDSM Scene, when he met Andrew and became his sub and when, after seven years of intense relationship, they broke up because Jules wanted to become a Dom himself, Daniel never judged him. Even though he couldn’t understand in the slightest what kind of kick Jules got from being dominated or dominating someone else, he listened to him and he helped him through his voyage of self-discovery with an open mind and an open heart, and when Daniel met Annika on TV, fell for her and found out he too could feel romantic interest towards a human being, even though sex was still not on the menu for him, Jules was the only one who understood and didn’t call him a fake for never wanting a relationship before that moment.

Sure, their friendship went through some rough patches – for example, it was Jules’ fault Daniel ever thought ending up on a TV show could be an even remotely interesting experience, and Daniel was the one who caused the famous Christmas Meltdown inviting Jules’ parents to Christmas’ Eve at his own parents’ to try and make them reconcile with their son after ten years – but which friendship doesn’t? And all in all Daniel and Jules got more good from each other than they ever got bad, and that’s ultimately the reason why he’s here, now, sitting on the classy black leather couch in Jules’ cool loft in Manhattan while Jules’ sub, Ariel, serves him tea. Dressed up in a sexy maid cosplay outfit.

“Are you aware of the fact that Ariel’s skirt is so short I can see his panties?” he asks, frowning lightly.

Jules nods, nonchalantly sipping at his tea. “I am,” he says, “Isn’t he adorable?”

“I don’t have an opinion on the topic.”

“I got that outfit especially custom-tailored for him. All the ones I found online had skirts too long.”

“I’m sure.”

“But there’s something even more interesting about this,” Jules grins and his wide lips, curled into that smile, make him look a little threatening, as Daniel gets a taste of what the people pay hundreds of bucks for to get a look at him as he performs on stage at the top floor of the Labyrinth, “And it’s that you would have never even noticed Ariel’s panties peeking out from underneath his skirt, hadn’t you been nervous.”

Daniel frowns even more, defensively backing away until his shoulders meet the back of the armchair. “I’m not nervous.”

“Oh, please,” Jules scoffs and rolls his eyes, one of the dark red locks of his hair escaping the accurately combed hairdo he’s sporting today, to fall in a random curl on his forehead, “Danny, I’ve known you for more than twenty years, I can tell when you’re nervous.”

“I’m not.”

“Jesus-- Ariel has known you for two years and _he_ too can tell when you’re nervous.”

“That’s true, Sir,” Ariel politely nods, putting down the teapot on the table and tidily sitting on the floor, with his heels under his ass, next to Jules’ feet, “You’re kind of an open book.”

“I’m not!” Daniel barks, pointing the finger at the boy, “And he’s being disrespectful.”

Jules smirks again. “He’s allowed, with you,” he says, “As long as he’s never disrespectful with me. And he never is, am I right, cookie?” he asks, affectionately patting the boy’s head like he would pat a dog’s.

Ariel smiles, almost purring under Jules’ touch. “Master Julian is so good to me,” he says lovingly, “Why would I ever disrespect him?”

Daniel pretends to retch and rolls his eyes, annoyed. “Please stop this.”

“Then you admit you’re nervous,” Jules chuckles, and Daniel decides it’s wiser to just follow his suggestion.

“Okay, I am,” he concedes, “But I have my good reasons.”

“Which are…?”

Daniel sighs deeply. With the exception of the reality show debacle, Jules has always offered good suggestions to him. He always said just the right thing to make him feel better. True enough, the reason why he’s nervous now is strictly connected to that old reality show debacle, and that would probably be reason enough to refrain from telling Jules anything about it, lest he forces him to do something stupid again, but he’s in dire need of a word of comfort, so he surrenders.

“You remember that TV show you made me go to?”

“How could I forget?” Jules says, smiling, “Best thing I did for you in all our life together.”

“I beg to differ,” Daniel frowns.

“Well, except for your first kiss, of course, that was the best ever.”

“I have reservations about that too-- but that’s not the point!” Daniel shakes his head fast, “They contacted me again.”

“Seriously?” Jules looks at him with his green eyes wide open, for a second looking his own 27-year-old self instead of the more mature and experienced ageless version of himself he sells to his worshipers at the club every Saturday and Sunday night. “That’s unexpected. Thought they kicked you out yelling they never wanted to see you again, last time. What was they said? You weren’t enough...”

“Entertaining. Which, in their language, means I didn’t flirt nor fucked strangers enough to raise the ratings. But they’re organizing a second take of the challenge and, for reasons I struggle to understand, they want me back.”

“Interesting,” Jules smirks, relaxing against the back of the couch and crossing his legs as Ariel hugs his knee, “What did Ann have to say about that?”

“They wanted her too, actually.”

“Oh!” now Jules seems thoroughly amused, “And what did she have to say about _that_?”

Daniel thinks about Annika locking herself in the toilet and screaming if they wanted her back on the show they would have had to do with her corpse, and sighs. “She said thanks but no thanks.”

“I expected it,” Jules laughs, “I bet you wanna say that too.”

“I wanted, but I can’t.”

“Is that right?” Jules raises an eyebrow, “How come?”

Daniel groans, covering his face with both hands in distress. “They made it impossible for me to withdraw. Their said since Annika didn’t want to come back it was my responsibility to find someone else to substitute her, and if I wanted to withdraw I could, but then I’d have to find someone to substitute myself too. And I tried, but the only people I got to agree weren’t interesting enough for them, none of them passed the auditions, so I’m back to square one, and now I’ve got a week to find someone I can bring with me in the house instead of her, or else they’re gonna throw the mother of all lawsuits at me because apparently the contract I signed all those years ago allows them to or something like that.” He groans again, and then sighs, wearily. “I’m desperate.”

For more than a few seconds, nothing comes from Jules. Daniel waits and fears this time the challenge might be impossible even for him to face, but then his best friend chuckles, and the way he does that tells Daniel two very different things.

One, Jules might have found a solution.

Two, it might be a dangerous one.

Jules stands up from the couch and Daniel raises his head to watch him as he crosses the space between them and comes land on the armrest of the armchair he’s sitting on. “My friend,” he says, placing a hand on Daniel’s shoulder, “You should’ve come to me right away. I have just the thing for you.”

“You… you do?” Daniel looks at him expectantly, swallowing down the uncertain feeling in the back of his throat telling him he should beware of Jules’ good disposition.

“I most certainly do,” Jules says, and then he turns to look at his sub, still sitting on the floor. “You’ll take Ariel with you.”

“What?!” Daniel stands up suddenly, taking a step back and away from him, “No! Absolutely not.”

“Why not?” Jules laughs, amused, grabbing him by the hem of his t-shirt and pulling him back to sit down, “It’s going to be a fun experience.”

“No way!” Daniel shakes his head, resolutely, “Why would he even want to come and play prisoner in a madhouse, anyway?”

Jules turns to look at his sub, smiling gently at him. “What do you say, cookie? Would you like to play prisoner in a madhouse?”

“I played prisoner with you many times, Master Julian, and I always liked it,” the boy nods, smiling innocently, “I wouldn’t mind playing it in different circumstances too.”

“Then it’s decided,” Jules claps his hands enthusiastically, “Ariel’s going to come with you and you’ll be my spy inside the house. My eyes, my hands, my everything.”

“Wait, what--”

“Well, I need someone to watch over him,” Jules shrugs, “You know how he gets.”

Daniel stops for a second as a vague, hazy memory emerges from the back of his mind. That one time Jules invited him to the Labyrinth and he was so foolish to accept. How Ariel behaved all night, how _friendly_ he was with everyone in the club, how much his friendliness bordered on flirting and how much he enjoyed his public punishment at the cross later in the night, and he swallows.

“Wait a second,” he says with a shaky voice, “What are we talking about, exactly?”

“I’d be trusting him with you, so naturally there would be rules he’d have to follow, being so far away from me,” Jules stands up from the armchair and walks back to the couch, and the moment he sits down Ariel is back at hugging his legs right away, “Things he _should_ do and things he absolutely _cannot_ do.”

“Such as…?”

“Let’s see...” he scratches his chin, pensively, “Of course he couldn’t kiss nor have sex nor mess around in any other intimate way with anyone. And he should always wear his collar, at all time. But I’m also thinking about having to do something for me at a specific time every day, of course in front of the camera, so I could watch him do it. And you should watch over him, make sure he does everything as he’s been commanded to, and if he doesn’t...”

Daniel swallows, dreading the next words coming from Jules’ mouth. “If he doesn’t…?”

Jules smiles, crossing his arms over his broad chest. “Naturally, you’d have to punish him.”

“But I don’t wanna do it!” Daniel yells, horrified, bringing both hands by the sides of his head, “This is ridiculous, I wouldn’t even know where to start!”

“Well, spanking is always a good--”

“I’m not touching your boyfriend’s ass, Bisset, I’m telling you.”

“But if you used a paddle--”

“How would I even find a paddle in that place and-- in any case, no! I’m not spanking him, I’m not tying him down, I’m not torturing him in any way, so no, forget about it, you wanna live this obviously perverted sexual fantasy where you give your boyfriend away to someone else and then enjoy him being subdued by him, you find someone else, I’m out.”

“Okay, okay, calm down!” Jules laughs, gently stroking Ariel’s neck. The boy is chuckling too, and Daniel can’t help feeling a little mocked. “I didn’t want to upset you. It was just an idea. It’s your decision, in the end. You can either take Ariel in with you, or you can try and find someone else… or getting sued and lose all your money, of course. It’s up to you,” he concludes with a huge grin.

Daniel looks at him and swallows, and for a second, just a second but a significant one, he hates him.

Then he sighs, bows his head and, once again, surrenders. “Okay,” he says, “How does this punishment thing work?”

Jules grins, obviously satisfied with himself, and stands up, quickly followed by his sub. “Come down to the playroom with us, we’ll show you.”

And as they make way for the stairs leading underground, Daniel already knows he’s going to deeply regret ever saying yes.

As a matter of fact, he already does.


End file.
